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The first quarter of the Winnipeg Jets 2013-14 season is officially in the books.

Naturally, I took a moment to ask Jets head coach Claude Noel what stands out so far?

“We’ve got to keep growing and moving,” Noel said shortly after his team defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday. “Sitting here at 20 games, we didn’t know how it would go. We’ve had some adversity — a fair bit of it in different areas, but we’ve persevered through the stuff and got a little streak going.”

That little streak is a season-high three games long and helped the Jets get back to .500 at 9-9-2, giving the Jets 20 of a possible 40 available points.

Every team is going to encounter adversity over the course of 82 games, but it’s how a club deals with the bumps in the road that ultimately defines them.

With 62 games remaining, the story of the Jets remains very much in the formative stages.

I’d give the Jets an overall grade of C for a first quarter that has been filled with ups-and-downs for individuals and the team alike.

Here are the individual grades for the position groups, coaching staff and management team:

GOALTENDING (B-)

While the numbers (2.85 goals against average and .913 save%) don’t jump off the page, they’re tracking in the right direction. The Jets goaltending hasn’t been an issue on most nights this season. Starter Ondrej Pavelec started well and is riding a personal three-game winning streak after enduring a hiccup in between. Backup Al Montoya (2.20 GAA, .921 Save%) has been excellent so far and proving he can be counted on more than just once every couple of weeks.

DEFENCE (C)

Dustin Byfuglien has been the most consistent performer of this injury-ravaged group and is managing his risk/reward decision-making better while logging big minutes. There are still some scratch-your-head moments but overall, Byfuglien remains the most dynamic talent in the Jets’ lineup. Toby Enstrom is moving the puck well, but his offensive production has been lagging of late (one point during past 12 games). Zach Bogosian had some tough puck luck and got off to a slow start but his game is much improved of late. Prior to his neck injury, rookie Jacob Trouba as playing in all situations and averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game.

FORWARDS (C+)

Bryan Little has been excellent, leading the Jets in both goals (11) and points (18), while captain Andrew Ladd has been clutch, with five goals and 17 points while going 5-for-5 in the shootout with three deciding goals. Evander Kane had an excellent start, picking up six goals in his first 12 games but he’s now gone six games without a goal. Blake Wheeler has five goals, but has also gone six games without one. The secondary scoring is starting to come, but needs to be there more consistently.

COACHING (C)

Following a 2-0 start, the Jets lost five of their next seven to leave them at 4-5-0. That’s when Jets head coach Claude Noel stepped to the podium and said his team had things backward and needed to put work ahead of skill. Noel said he knew there would be consequences if he was unable “to get the best out of our team and our players.” Since that time, the Jets are 5-4-2 and playing with more competitive edge. The Jets’ power play had a goal in each of the first five games, but since that time has managed only one in 15 games, slipping to 30th overall in the NHL. The penalty kill has been an area of strength, though the Jets have given up four power play goals during the past two games.

MANAGEMENT (C)

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff resisted the urge to make a deal out of panic when his team was struggling in the early going. After watching his defence corps get decimated by injuries, Cheveldayoff went to the waiver wire to claim Keaton Ellerby, a former first round pick who has fit in nicely on the third pair. Don’t rule out a trade to try and upgrade this roster further, but a blockbuster seems unlikely, given how many members of the core have some form of a no-trade clause.

As Advertised in the Winnipeg SUN

Winnipeg Jets need to keep on growing after weathering early storm

The first quarter of the Winnipeg Jets 2013-14 season is officially in the books.

Naturally, I took a moment to ask Jets head coach Claude Noel what stands out so far?

“We’ve got to keep growing and moving,” Noel said shortly after his team defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday. “Sitting here at 20 games, we didn’t know how it would go. We’ve had some adversity — a fair bit of it in different areas, but we’ve persevered through the stuff and got a little streak going.”

That little streak is a season-high three games long and helped the Jets get back to .500 at 9-9-2, giving the Jets 20 of a possible 40 available points.

Every team is going to encounter adversity over the course of 82 games, but it’s how a club deals with the bumps in the road that ultimately defines them.

With 62 games remaining, the story of the Jets remains very much in the formative stages.